221
switching from car journey to bicycles) leads to funds spent on other energy- and
material-intensive activities (e.g., a long distance fl ight). Economy-wide rebound
considers the effects such rebounds might have across the economy (Druckman
et al. 2011 ). Using the savings generated from increased effi ciencies to invest in
projects that aim towards industrial ecology goals could be one way to counter such
rebounds (as also discussed by Druckman and Jackson, Chap. 9 in this volume),
with certain crowdfunding platforms providing the opportunity for such investments (Sahakian and Servet in press ). While quantifying and qualifying rebounds is
a diffi cult exercise, allowing more opportunities for people to invest more directly
in environmentally sound and socially just activities, seems like a logical way
forward.
4 Conclusion
In this chapter we have considered the links and tensions between the fi elds of the
social and solidarity economy (SSE) and industrial ecology (IE), highlighting new
directions for refl ection, research and practice in industrial ecology. This exercise
raises more questions than answers. The fi rst main conclusion is about value systems and paradigms: the SSE tends to place people over profi t; the IE fi eld tends to
put planet over profi t, both therefore go beyond pecuniary interests yet are based on
differing normative goals. By placing these two fi elds side by side, it becomes
apparent that the IE fi eld could further theorize questions related to social context
and power structures. The notion of solidarity in relation to the workplace is becoming increasingly topical in discussions around the sharing economy: ethical issues
are emerging around questions of employment security, health and safety standards,
employee personal development and employee sharing in value creation and related
wealth (Conway 2014 ). The question of labour precarity will no doubt increase in
the coming years, thus the relevance of Cohen-Rosenthal’s contribution to the IE
literature as well as more recent work on employee wages, health and safety. In
addition to the increasing focus on consumption and consumers in the IE fi eld over
the past decade, more attention could also be given to production and specifi cally
labour relations: would a ‘world of work’ based on solidarity contribute to greater
prosperity?
Beyond considering how IE might integrate principles from the SSE, another
approach would be to question whether solidarity, in a community or between different stakeholders in an economic activity, might be a promising foundation for
industrial symbiosis (see Chaps. 5 by Chertow and Park, and 19 by Bailey in this
volume). Rather than ‘create’ an eco-community or industrial eco-park through topdown policies, or hope that bottom-up forms of symbiosis will emerge from selforganizing entities, one interesting new avenue for the industrial ecology community
would be to assess where the SSE is already active in certain fi elds – at the level of
cooperatives, SMEs, larger enterprises, neighbourhoods or regions – then build on
the existing relations of trust and solidarity, to maximize resource effi ciency .
10 The Social and Solidarity Economy: Why Is It Relevant to Industrial Ecology?
switching from car journey to bicycles) leads to funds spent on other energy- and
material-intensive activities (e.g., a long distance fl ight). Economy-wide rebound
considers the effects such rebounds might have across the economy (Druckman
et al. 2011 ). Using the savings generated from increased effi ciencies to invest in
projects that aim towards industrial ecology goals could be one way to counter such
rebounds (as also discussed by Druckman and Jackson, Chap. 9 in this volume),
with certain crowdfunding platforms providing the opportunity for such investments (Sahakian and Servet in press ). While quantifying and qualifying rebounds is
a diffi cult exercise, allowing more opportunities for people to invest more directly
in environmentally sound and socially just activities, seems like a logical way
forward.
4 Conclusion
In this chapter we have considered the links and tensions between the fi elds of the
social and solidarity economy (SSE) and industrial ecology (IE), highlighting new
directions for refl ection, research and practice in industrial ecology. This exercise
raises more questions than answers. The fi rst main conclusion is about value systems and paradigms: the SSE tends to place people over profi t; the IE fi eld tends to
put planet over profi t, both therefore go beyond pecuniary interests yet are based on
differing normative goals. By placing these two fi elds side by side, it becomes
apparent that the IE fi eld could further theorize questions related to social context
and power structures. The notion of solidarity in relation to the workplace is becoming increasingly topical in discussions around the sharing economy: ethical issues
are emerging around questions of employment security, health and safety standards,
employee personal development and employee sharing in value creation and related
wealth (Conway 2014 ). The question of labour precarity will no doubt increase in
the coming years, thus the relevance of Cohen-Rosenthal’s contribution to the IE
literature as well as more recent work on employee wages, health and safety. In
addition to the increasing focus on consumption and consumers in the IE fi eld over
the past decade, more attention could also be given to production and specifi cally
labour relations: would a ‘world of work’ based on solidarity contribute to greater
prosperity?
Beyond considering how IE might integrate principles from the SSE, another
approach would be to question whether solidarity, in a community or between different stakeholders in an economic activity, might be a promising foundation for
industrial symbiosis (see Chaps. 5 by Chertow and Park, and 19 by Bailey in this
volume). Rather than ‘create’ an eco-community or industrial eco-park through topdown policies, or hope that bottom-up forms of symbiosis will emerge from selforganizing entities, one interesting new avenue for the industrial ecology community
would be to assess where the SSE is already active in certain fi elds – at the level of
cooperatives, SMEs, larger enterprises, neighbourhoods or regions – then build on
the existing relations of trust and solidarity, to maximize resource effi ciency .
10 The Social and Solidarity Economy: Why Is It Relevant to Industrial Ecology?